October 07, 2014

Who remembers their favorite test from school? You know, the one that inspired you to become who you are now, or saved you from the wrong part of yourself? Who remembers the test that made you want to come out of your shell? Which test gave you the courage to try new things and challenge yourself? For me, it was the 1966 Regents Comprehensive Examination in Social Studies.

Ok, only kidding. We all know that it is teachers who inspire and challenge us to be our best. It isn’t testing, or much of what is now being called teaching. We also know which teachers did that. We might remember some incidents in their classes, or things they said or wrote to us. Do we remember the everyday things? The attitude they brought to the room? Their techniques?

When I see former students (from the Bronx to Scarsdale), they don’t tell me about the Goals or Aim or Motivation from October 23rd, 2002. They will tell me about my energy, my excitement, my caring, and my prodding them to do their best, not to settle for mediocrity. They tell me about a particular project that inspired or challenged them to think critically, or do things they never thought they could. They even remember what they learned while doing those things. What they don’t know is how all of that was planned.

“Great teaching is an art.” Of course, there are great techniques that have been used by great teachers, but it isn’t the technique that makes the teacher great. It is what the great teacher brings to the technique. I have watched these techniques used perfectly in perfectly horrible lessons and marginally well in absolutely magnificent lessons, because of who the teacher is as much as what the teacher does. This is true, whatever the teacher’s age or experience level. Teaching is as much talent as it is skill.

Great teachers plan objectives, then matching assessments and activities. What is also important is the quality of the activities and the probing, challenging, written, and oral questions accompanying those activities. It is all one big package. How does that lesson or activity, as simple or complex as it may be, get your kids to learn and understand those objectives and succeed on the assessments?

So, what is a good teacher? The sum of all those things. Each and every day a good teacher is a motivator, planner, questioner, assessor, mother or father, even entertainer. Plan accordingly. It is the key. Your kids rely on that. But don’t make it look too planned.

So many so-called educational reformers believe that given their version of the right tools, techniques, and tests, any top college student can become a successful teacher.

I learned from several esteemed mentors that the best teachers never stopped learning and listening. How else can we find out what makes good teaching, but by listening to people from both sides of the desk? In researching this book, I reached out to many people and asked these simple questions:

From which teachers did you learn the most? Why? From which teachers did you learn the least? Why? (You don’t have to name names.)

Please describe any particularly positive or negative classroom moments or activities that stand out. What made them so memorable?

I received a wide variety of answers from friends, family, colleagues, and former students. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I have been saying for years to anyone who will listen that all you have to do to improve education is to ask people what made their best teachers best, then train teachers to do as many of those replicable things as possible. Two things cannot be replicated, though: personality and natural talent. Although personality and natural talent cannot be learned, teachers certainly can be taught to use what works best for them as individuals.

Hard as it was, I selected what I thought were the clearest messages and tried to list them by six essential categories: Challenge, Engagement, Interaction, Personality, Personal Touch, and Planning. These are listed in alphabetical order, because they are equally important.

Challenge:

The best teachers build a relationship with their students by challenging them.

The best teacher puts you in a position to succeed.

They actually cared about my success and did not allow for the possibility of failure by setting high expectations. This made a lifelong impact on my life.

The best teachers paced the class at a level that worked for everyone. In hindsight, it seems magical, apparent more when absent. I’m aware of teachers who kept everyone challenged, but more aware of teachers where I felt like the material was moving too slowly or too quickly for me to handle. In the latter case, the result (on my part) was boredom or frustration–and in both cases, a loss of interest in the topic. But in the former case, the result was challenge, pride in my work, and a feeling of accomplishment.

The best teachers are those that lead the students to water but force them to get to the end on their own.

The ones that I learned the most were the ones who challenged me, who wouldn’t let me just take the easy route, who were patient yet firm, who didn’t cosign my BS and let me get away with mediocrity.

Engagement:

The best teachers came in prepared and eager to reach out. You felt that they loved what they were doing. I learned most from the ones who were able to engage the classroom.

Kids know if you want to be there.

The best classroom is one where students can think, question, and make those personal and meaningful connections.

They used clear, vivid language–some of their phrases I remember over forty years later. They loved engaging in debate with their students.

My best teachers were always engaging, relying on interactive teaching methods to best gain the interest of the students.

One significant quality that I admire was that they saw teaching as an adventure, constantly questioning, having fun doing it, and that it had real- life relevance.

My best teachers were the teachers who were open and willing to reach their students on the student level. They were the teachers who best understood how we, as students, were still growing and learning–and making mistakes. They were the teachers who made an effort to appreciate us as individuals and recognize us for our own talents and interests.

Interaction:

A great lesson is one in which there is student participation and connection between student and teacher.

They use active interaction with students.

They did not “lecture” at us–but spoke with us–used real-life examples, allowed us to speak freely, even if we disagreed. They fostered participation and real discourse.

A lesson is great when there is enough opportunity for authentic interaction between students, teachers, and other students.

Interactive teaching where students can chime in with their questions and thoughts, while maintaining a sense of direction and achieving teaching goals.

I learned a lot from teachers who let us into their world and their interests–it made them more relatable. I learned the least from the teachers I did not have more than a classroom relationship with. I now realize that the most significant learning experiences I had in high school were with the teachers that I connected with.

Personality:

The best teachers were any teachers who seemed authentic, who seemed to really walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

My best teachers were teachers that gave me knowledge, not only by textbook, but also with humor. They create activities that apply knowledge.

They have a good sense of humor. They make learning fun.

The best teachers have a big personality. You can see that they are excited by what they do!

I enjoyed those teachers who clearly enjoyed teaching, i.e., they themselves weren’t bored with what they were doing, but rather projected a love for their subject–and their subjects [students].

The personal characteristic of my best teachers was that they loved their job, and it was evident in their teaching style. They love to see the student “get it.”

It seems that the best atmospheres were those where the teacher had both a personal relationship with students and (somewhat contradictory) complete control of the classroom.

My best teachers were enthusiastic about their subjects–they cared deeply, and made us want to care also.

They knew how to play with and poke fun at the students, to keep the atmosphere light and easy.

Teachers who like students are generally successful.

Many of my best teachers possessed integrity, humor, and consistency.

The Personal Touch:

Kids pick up on attitudes and can usually cut through the facade. When kids feel genuinely cared about by a teacher, they think the teacher is a good teacher.

The best teacher, whether teaching science, math, or football is the one who can bring out the best in me, and take my worst, and show me how to make it better. The best teacher finds qualities in the not-so gifted student that allows that student to see that he, too, can succeed. The great teachers showed an interest in us, but did not overdo it by trying to be “our friends.” The great teachers used their personal life experience to help us grow and mature.

The best teachers gave attention, not just to the subject, but also to the real academic needs of me, as a student, as a growing person. The best allowed me to express myself creatively without judgment, and enforce critical-thinking skills. They knew how to make demands to elevate my skills, abilities, and responsibilities as a student. They were personal, without losing sight of their role as teachers, mentors, and guiders of the academic spirit. They would build and not tear down. They understood the journey a young person needed to take to get to the bridge in preparation for the next phase of development…they inspired this by their actions.

Clearly, they were experts in their chosen field and were enthusiastic about the content, which translated many times to the students also being enthusiastic about the content.

Planning:

They use innovative teaching methods.

They keep the kids interested. A great lesson is one where the class is working along with the teacher.

A great lesson plan connects planning, questioning, and activities to doing, action, and reflection.

A lesson is great when it is well planned. One has to consider all the ways children learn. Teachers have to know their students, and provide them all opportunities.

A great lesson is one that is well planned but is flexible enough to leave room for the “teachable” moment or for situations that would make a change of direction needed.

I think a variety of activities are needed, both to keep the interest of the students and to find ways of reaching all different kinds of learners.

Higher-level questions on all grade levels are important, and I never saw enough of these used by student teachers.

Get to know your students’ learning styles and what seems to hold their interest and challenge them. This valuable information will help with how to plan your lessons, and the types of questioning and activities you use. The types of learners in your class will dictate the lessons you plan. I guess you would call this customizing your lessons to your particular students.

All types of lessons can work, but no one technique should be used always.

Finally, one note on school atmosphere:

The best atmospheres are supportive and self-directing and that develop a sense of professionalism and camaraderie among colleagues.

That last comment is significant. Schools and districts must create those types of atmospheres to allow teachers to be their best. Am I too Pollyannaish to think that is not that hard to do? No.

Teaching is learning how to be that person. Teachers, young and old, new or experienced, can become better at what they do by listening to and observing the best teachers do those things well. If they are lucky enough to be in a supportive and self-directing school atmosphere that develops a sense of professionalism and camaraderie among colleagues, they will become among the best in their profession.

August 26, 2014

New Study: Engage Kids with 7x the Effect

In education literature, "engagement" is a lynchpin word, routinely cited as essential. However, authors often leave it undefined or offhandedly provide vague definitions. So, what is engagement?

It depends on whom you ask. In an unpublished study, Shari Steadman and I found that preservice teachers often identified acts of compliance as engagement. Wrote one education major, "Engagement is an agreement between student[s] and teachers to be there and present during class." This unfortunate and quotidian explanation implies that merely breathing and looking at instructors constitutes student engagement. Ruth Schoenbach and Cynthia Greenleaf view the term differently:

By adding the word "engaged," we mean to distinguish between the skilled by rote and unsophisticated kind of academic literacy that many "successful" students master, and the more analytic, critical, and discipline specific ways of making meaning emblematic of engaged learners.

But to consider engagement viscerally, we need to refer to its mid-17th century association with battle. Imagine fencers: competitors face off, all senses focused on the micro-adjustments of their opponent's blade as well as their own physical, emotional, and intellectual potential. When fencers lunge, circle, and feint, their fierce ballet is called engagement.

Benefits of Engagement

According to multiple research studies, engaged students . . .

Experience improved academic achievement and satisfaction

Are more likely to have the capacity to work through academic struggles

Earn higher standardized test scores

Have better social skills

Are less likely to drop out of school.

In contrast, disengagement . . .

Lowers cognitive performance

Increases disruptive behaviors

Causes academic avoidance behaviors

Exacerbates learning, behavior, and emotional problems

Increases absenteeism and dropout rates.

Regrettably, an overwhelming number of high school students are disengaged and bored with class content. In the early grades, eight out of ten students are engaged. By middle school, the number is six out ten, then four out of ten in high school, according to a 2013 Gallop Poll.

"The drop in student engagement for each year students are in school is our monumental, collective national failure," asserts Brandon Busteed, the executive director of Gallup Education.

Cooper, an award-winning researcher at Michigan State University with an MA and Ed.D from Harvard, examined the impact of three well-supported methods that teachers employ to increase student engagement. As you read about each, try to guess which practice had the greatest impact.

Engagement Method #1: Lively Teaching

Involves group work, games, and projects. The emphasis is on the students constructing knowledge, not on the teacher delivering it. Think social and fun.

Engagement Method #2: Academic Rigor

The instructor creates cognitively demanding tasks and environments (called "academic press"), emphasizing that students will need to work hard. The teacher also shows passionate investment in the content. According to research that Cooper cites, students' perception of challenge is a strong predictor of achievement gains.

Engagement Method #3: Connective Instruction

In connective instruction, the teacher helps students make personal connections to the class, content, and learning. The power of connective instruction comes from the instructor helping students see the curriculum as critical to their current lives, their future, and their culture. Additionally, six instructor behaviors play into creating high quality relationships where, according to Andrew Martin, students "actually internalize the beliefs valued by significant others."

Although lively teaching and academic rigor independently and collectively increase engagement, the single biggest effect, according to Cooper's study, resulted from connective instruction of a magnitude seven times that of the other two well-established practices. Why? Because of kids' desperate longing for high-quality relationships. When a teacher fulfills that desire, students' achievement behaviors and intellectual functioning soars (PDF, 380KB).

For all teachers, regardless of subject or grade level, intensive effort to connect with learners is nonnegotiable -- if you want them engaged.

Cognitive understanding of how students learn; emotional preparation to relate to many students whose varied needs are not always evident; content knowledge from which to draw different ways to present a concept; and, finally, the ability to make teaching decisions quickly and act on them.

Transformational: Where students' active engagement in developing knowledge and skills, critical thinking, higher order skills, and communication are facilitated by the instructor.

It is difficult to accomplish transformational teaching without understanding and implementing constructivist pedagogy -- facilitating hands-on experiences -- where students construct meaning through active learning. However, the checklist below suggests some tactics:

What Does Transformational Teaching Look Like?

Have students ask questions and solve real-world problems.

Questions should require students to:

Analyze

Synthesize

Create

Empathize

Interpret

Reference background knowledge

Defend alternative perspectives

Determine what they know and don't know

Organize students into learning groups.

Make learning segments manageable through modeling and mastery.

Guide, facilitate, challenge, and support.

Let learning transform you.

Click to download a PDF of this list for your classroom (49 KB).

Constructivist teachers focus on enriching students' perspective on the content by facilitating rich experiences. These themes appear in a survey conducted by Grant Wiggins, in which high school students were asked to complete this phrase: "I learn best when the teacher . . ." One participant wrote the following:

. . . is hands on and doesn't just talk at me. They need to be interested in what they're teaching and encourage class discussions. Not only does this encourage us to use what we learned, it also helps us see the information in a different way.

Transformational teachers know that artful teaching without science lacks efficacy, and scientific teaching without aesthetics lacks vision. Says child psychologist Dr. David Elkind, "The art comes from the teacher's personality, experience, and talents. The science comes from knowledge of child development and the structure of the curriculum." The art and science of teaching work in harmony. Writes Richard Bankert, an eighth grade science teacher, "The best teachers are artists who know the science of teaching."

In contrast to immature teachers who fill a 90-minute class with activities (and ignore targeted objectives), a transformational teacher treats those 90 minutes like a carefully crafted persuasive essay -- with a clear purpose and unique sense of style, a memorable beginning and end, a logical sequence, important content, nimble transitions, and contagious passion. These characteristics persuade students to believe that learning the content and skills really matters.

3. Transformational Teachers Model Symphonic Thinking

To be effective in advancing human potential, teachers need to manifest what Daniel Pink calls "symphonic thinking" -- critically appraising and synthesizing new ideas. Someone with symphony thinking skills is able to do the following:

Understand the logical connections between ideas.

Identify, construct, and evaluate arguments.

Detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning.

Combine different ideas to form a new concept.

Identify the relevance and importance of ideas.

Reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values.

Such thinking is necessary in order for students to thrive in the new economy, according to Pink. It's also necessary for teachers to model.

4. Transformational Teachers Facilitate Productive Struggle

It's hard not to rescue kids when they beg for help. But that altruistic instinct can get in the way of learning. In a Wired Magazine piece, "Telling You the Answer Isn't the Answer," Rhett Allain explains why letting students engage in productive struggle is the unpopular and necessary approach to instruction:

What if a person was having trouble doing a pull up for exercise? Instead of giving them some other exercise, I could help them by doing the pull up for that person. Right? No, that wouldn’t actually be useful. However, if I push on the person's feet a little bit, they can still struggle and still exercise.

Warning: allowing productive struggle to occur will consume more class time. However, when the learning process is frictionless, retention is less likely. Struggle actually saves re-teaching time in the long run and is the best way for new dendrites to grow.

Allowing productive struggle to occur, using artistic and scientific instruction, modeling symphonic thinking, and encouraging students to lean into constructivist problem solving can lead to the holy grail of transformational teaching: epiphany. We hope you'll tell us about your transformational teaching in the comment area below.

(And speaking of epiphanies, please join Edutopia for a series on making 2014-2015 your #BestYearEver.)

August 25, 2014

New Teachers: Creating a Shiny, Happy Classroom

One of my favorite bands is R.E.M. They wrote this fluffy little song called “Shiny, Happy People” and hearing it always makes me smile. I want my students to have this same experience when they think of my classroom. I want thoughts of life in Room 132 to bring a smile. These are some of the steps I take to try to make that happen.

As teachers begin this school year, their thoughts undoubtedly turn to the classroom climate they want to establish and maintain. One question that I am often asked (especially by newer teachers) is what kind of classroom management program I use. My answer is that I don’t.

What I prefer instead is to develop a classroom that does not require a system to handle misbehavior because it so rarely occurs. No checkmarks on the board, no list of consequences, no rewards. Just engaged, productive, friendly students.

I won’t go into the many well-known programs for establishing a positive classroom climate, but all it takes is one quick Google search to retrieve millions of hits. There are dozens of books on the subject already written and more arriving every day.

I feel much of developing a positive classroom climate is common sense about how to treat people. After all, our students are people and should be afforded the same graces many of us save for our significant others, friends, and families.

In my experience, there are three things that need to happen for a shiny, happy classroom to exist.

1) Students must feel safe, 2) Students must feel valued, and 3) Students must feel successful.

Feeling Safe

In order for a classroom to be safe, it must be under control. This does not mean that a teacher needs to be authoritarian dominating every aspect of its function. It means that a teacher needs to be authoritative and implement policies and procedures that encourage physical, social, and emotional security. A safe classroom is not that difficult to achieve by following a few basic tenets.

1. Hold high expectations of all students

This does not mean the same expectations of all students, but rather a high but achievable standard for each child.

Give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they will do the right thing the majority of the time.

Believe that they can all reach their potential. For that matter, believe that they all HAVE potential.

2. Be firm but fair

Firm does not mean overly strict or outright mean. It means choosing your battles and determining what is most important to you and having a legitimate reason for that policy.

Students remember nit-picky things like failing a paper because they forgot to put their name on top, and it will only damage the relationship in the long run. Is their name in the upper, right-hand corner REALLY the most important thing to you?

3. Model the behavior you wish to see from students

You cannot be overly emotional or dramatic on a regular basis in front of the students. There is nothing scarier to some students than a teacher who randomly flies off the handle and explodes at unexpected times. On the other hand, I have seen students make it a game to be the one to send a “yeller” over the edge. Mood swings of any kind generally make others uncomfortable, and they will begin to block you out.

Don’t tell them they need to pay attention when you are talking and then be a bad listener when they speak.

Don’t tell them they need to be respectful of others and then “tease” some of the students. If you expect them to be kind to one another, then you must also be kind.

Feeling Valued

I believe that students won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Once they realize this—watch out! The potential for learning in your class will be limitless.”

Here’s the essence of what I’ve learned about validation –

1. Get to know students as individuals.

A positive rapport with your students is the secret weapon when it comes to having a happy classroom. If this does not exist, nothing else you try will ever work.

If you know a little bit about the children beyond the classroom, it will go a long way. Integrate their interests into the classroom.

2. Always help maintain their dignity

Sometimes it is necessary to have a discussion with a child about his/her behavior, but it should not be done in front of other students and should never humiliate a student.

Whenever possible, determine a solution to a problem WITH a student rather than imposing your will on them. Giving them the tools to manage their own behavior is much more effective than you deciding how to control them.

3. Choose your words carefully

You are your words—so choose wisely. Always bear in mind that your words have the power to uplift or crush a child. Use your power for good, not evil.

Feeling Successful

If a student is not doing well in my classroom, I bear some responsibility. As a teacher, I must do everything in my power to find an avenue for that child to succeed academically. Yes, this is a lot of work and often involves circumstances beyond my control, but if I expect their best effort, I must give mine as well.

1. Provide engaging instruction

Make sure you know what you are doing before you step in front of the students. Nothing undermines you more than not appearing as if you had a plan.

Incorporate novelty, technology, collaboration, etc. when appropriate to the content. (I find Dave Burgess’s Teach Like a Pirate to have brilliant ideas for getting students’ attention.)

2. Whenever possible, allow for choice and student directed learning

A student-centered classroom is crucial for all students to succeed. One of our central roles as their instructor is to be their coach and their cheerleader as they assume more and more ownership of learning.

3. Clearly communicate your expectations for the assignment

Students can’t hit a target that they can’t see. Don’t make them guess what you were looking for. Let students know what a quality assignment looks like in advance.

4. Provide regular, constructive feedback

There is no place for a “gotcha” grade at the end of an assignment. Students should know their strengths and weaknesses and work on improving BEFORE it “counts.”

5. Nurture and celebrate their successes

Finally, always remember that it’s okay to have fun. “Don’t smile until Christmas” is ridiculous and was bad advice even when it was new!

Cheryl Mizerny is a veteran educator with over 20 years experience–primarily at the middle school level. She began her career in special education, became a teacher consultant and adjunct professor of Educational Psychology, and currently teaches sixth grade English in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Her teaching is guided by her belief in reaching every student and teaching the whole child: socially, emotionally, and cognitively. She writes a blog about student motivation and engagement at The Accidental English Teacher.

August 19, 2014

7 Questions to Ask Parents at the Beginning of the Year

As a beginning teacher I knew that it was important to connect with parents and to build a positive relationship with them, but at times I wasn't sure how to do this. Within the first week of school I'd call all my student's parents or guardians, introduce myself, and share a little about what they could expect for their kids in my class that year.

In retrospect, I wish I'd asked more questions about their child and then listened more to what they had to say. After twenty years of experience and after sending my own child off to school, here are some questions I'd ask parents with the intention of building a partnership to support their child's learning.

1. What do you see as your child's greatest strengths or skills? Tell me about a time when you saw your child demonstrating these skills.

2. Next June, what do you hope your child says about his/her experience in school this year? What's the story you hope he/she would tell?

3. What was your experience like in this grade? How do you remember that year of school?

4. What are your fears or concerns about your child in this year of school?

5. How and when would you like me to be in touch with you this year? What do you hope I'd communicate with you about?

6. Is there anything else you can tell me about your child that you think would help me support his/her learning?

7. Is there a question you hope I'll ask you about your child?

While ideally teachers would be able to meet with every parent and have this kind of a conversation in person, I recognize that our schools are not aligned to this priority and we just don't have the time. I believe it's possible for teachers of self-contained classrooms to make phone calls to some 20-35 families -- and I know it's worth the effort. For middle and high school teachers, I wonder if these questions could be asked by phone over a period of time, or through email or paper surveys, or in some kind of innovative Back to School Night where parents shared their thoughts and feelings rather than teachers talking to parents.

I write this blog less from the stance of a teacher and more from my perspective as a mother. Although I have a great deal of experience in education, I still believe that my son's teacher will know him in ways that I may not, that his teacher will have expertise that I may not, and that I will need her and rely on her to help me son get the most out of his fifth-grade experience. I hope that she'll see me as a partner and I'm excited to meet her next month.

What ways do you partner with parents in the start of the year? What questions have you asked that you have found effective and beneficial? Please share in the comments section below.

July 07, 2014

July 7, 2014

To Improve Student Performance, Start Thinking Like a Coach

I have a confession to make. I was wrong. You see, I once thought that teaching was lecturing, and I thought that because that is how my graduate mentors taught me to teach.

But I was wrong. Studies have shown that lecturing has little to do with teaching. A University of Maryland study found that right after a physics lecture, almost none of the students could answer the question: “What was the lecture you just heard about?” Another physics professor simply asked students about the material that he had presented only 15 minutes earlier, and he found that only ten percent showed any sign of remembering it (Freedman, 2012).

So what is teaching? John Hattie compared more than 100 factors related to student achievement from over 180,000 studies and discovered that feedback on student work had the most effect on learning (2009).

OK, I give margin comments like “vague” or “needs synthesis” on student work, so I’ve got that covered, right? Unfortunately, the brief margin comments that most faculty give on student work are almost completely unhelpful to the student. The student who sees “vague” thinks to themselves “What is vague about it? It’s not vague to me. Why is it vague to you?” The student who did not include a synthesis might not know what a synthesis is.

Simply pointing out a student’s errors is not all that useful to the student, but we do it on the mistaken belief that the purpose of feedback is to justify the grade. We subtracted points for 10 things, and so we need to list them in the margins.

But feedback is fundamentally different from grading, and conceptually separating the two is a key to great teaching. Grades are backward facing—they are an evaluation of past performance. Feedback is forward facing—it is information aimed at improving performance in the future.

Step away from the red pen As Grant Wiggins notes, when it comes to giving effective feedback, the key is to stop thinking like a grader, and start thinking like a coach (2012). Coaches are fundamentally teachers, but they spend little time lecturing or grading. Instead, they teach through feedback. Ninety percentage of their teaching is done by watching a player’s performance and giving feedback on what they did right or wrong, and how to improve.

Importantly, the kind of feedback they give to players is fundamentally different from the feedback most teachers give to their students. A coach doesn’t say “you’re standing wrong” and walk away, similar to a teacher leaving a margin comment that a student’s work is “vague.” That would not be helpful. Coaches instead say precisely what the player is doing wrong, and what they should be doing instead. For instance, a soccer coach might say:

“You are allowing goals because your technique is wrong. You are holding your hands down by your side like this. Because of this, you can’t get your hands up fast enough to block a high kick toward the corners. You need to hold your hands higher like this, and keep your knees bent like this so that you can react quickly to the shot. Now you try it.”

Note how the coach is not just telling the player what she did wrong, but also showing her the proper way to do it. As teachers we spend a lot of time telling students what they did wrong, but very little time showing them what doing it right looks like. Modeling good work is a key component of feedback—and improving student or player performance.

A coach also doesn’t give the player a laundry list of things to work on at once, but rather limits his or her feedback to one or two things for the player to work on at a time. For instance, the HBO series “Hard Knocks” follows an NFL team in the preseason. One episode showed a rookie running back talking to his position coach. The coach said to the rookie “What one thing are we going to work on today?,” to which the rookie replied “Ball control.” “Good,” the coach said. “That’s the one thing we’re going to work on today.”

This is instructive. The rookie does not just have one thing to learn–the rookie probably has 30 things to learn. But when it comes to improving performance, the coach doesn’t expect the player to work on all of those at once. The coach knows that improvement comes sequentially by focusing on a limited number of things at a time.

Similarly, the best way to produce improvement in the student’s performance is to focus your feedback on one or two things at most to work on per assignment. Yes, you provide a grade and a brief account of how it was determined. But feedback is separate from that account. Like the coach, you are essentially saying to the student “I’ve listed the things you will need to work on. Now we will work on the first one.”

In essence, you turn your attention from the past to the future, and pick one or two major themes relating to problems in the student’s performance to provide feedback on. Perhaps you want to focus on how to frame a thesis. You might talk about what a thesis is, why the work lacked one, what thesis for the work would look like, and how to put together a thesis in the future.

Note that you are spending time discussing the process of developing the work. Too often we only discuss the product, not the process that went into developing it. The product is a result of the process, so without discussing process, we are not providing information that the student can use to do better in the future.

Why students are grade-obsessed Conceptually divorcing feedback from grading will also start to reduce students’ grade-obsession. Faculty often complain that students are grade-obsessed, but how did they become that way? They were not born that way. They did not drop out of the womb grade-obsessed. They were taught that, and to a great extent they were taught that by us when we put all feedback in service to the grade. We do it when we spend our first day of class talking about the grading system. We are telling them that the point of education is the grade.

We also teach students to be grade-obsessed by creating grading systems to preserve their errors. Student’s come into our offices to brow-beat us into raising a poor grade on an exam because they know that the grade will get carried forward to their final grade. They need to do something about that grade itself—not the learning.

By contrast, if a rookie running back starts camp without knowing pass patterns, but gets them down by the end, the coach does not say that “I can’t start him because his understanding is the average between not knowing at the beginning and knowing at the end.” Players are evaluated by the endpoint of their learning curve, not its average.

We all learn by our mistakes, and should encourage our students to make mistakes in order to learn. But instead we have a system that preserves, and hence punishes, students for their mistakes. Then we wonder why they are grade-obsessed.

There are many more rules for providing good feedback, but the first move is to stop thinking like a grader and start thinking like a coach. Only then will you start to see real improvement in your students’ performance.

Dr. John Orlando helped develop and lead online learning programs at the University of Vermont and Norwich University, and he has taught faculty how to teach online as well as how to use technology in their face-to-face teaching.

Comments (2)

While there are some useful analogies here, much of the advice in this article is deeply flawed. Am I the only one who is sick to death of sports sports sports being the model for everything in students' lives? The kids' obsession with sports, the parents obsession with sports, and now we're supposed to take sports as a good model for academic work? Are you kidding me?

Recently I had a student who had suffered 2 concussions. The "trainers" for the team decided he was fit to go back into the game. I watched him over the course of two weeks deteriorating more and more--he told me he couldn't read, couldn't focus his eyes on the page, had short-term memory problems. I watched as his lower eye lid pulled away more and more from his eye. He looked and acted like a zombie. This was good, very (probably too) responsible student. He was pushing himself waaaay too hard, so even when I told him "don't read the novel, don't do any work for this class. Stay home and rest until you see the doctor. I will personally tutor you when you get back. You will pass this course."

The first day he came in like a zombie, barely able to keep himself vertical in his chair, I emailed the dean of students. He forwarded my message to the coach who emailed me back, "it's ok we have it under control." The coach??!?!?! For two weeks that kid did not see a neurologist, and I watched him deteriorate. Kept sending emails. WHY ARE THE COACHES IN CHARGE OF SICK KIDS? ! ? ACADEMIC WORK IS NOT A SPORT.

How is the advice flawed. He is not saying that coaches are in charge. The author is stating that coaches feedback is inherently different than teachers feedback (making generalizations, of course). Having been in education for 20 years, the grading systems have always troubled me for the reasons stated in the article. I personally have tried to mitigate some of the problems, but until the administrations, testing structures, admission policies, and parents are on board, my efforts were mostly futile.

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The Science of Attention: How To Capture And Hold The Attention of Easily Distracted Students

How long can you reasonably expect your students to pay attention during your lessons? Some psychologists claim the typical student’s attention span is about 10 to 15 minutes long, yet most university classes last 50 to 90 minutes. Students’ attention levels vary widely based on factors like motivation, emotion, enjoyment, and time of day. From incorporating demonstrations or visuals into our lessons to requiring student participation, we do our best to keep students interested and alert. But could we be doing better?

Let’s take a closer look at what the science actually says.

The Average Attention Span

Despite the popular belief that students have “short” attention spans ranging from 10 to 15 minutes, there is considerable evidence to suggest otherwise.

In a 2007 literature review, psychologists Karen Wilson and James H. Korn concluded there is little evidence to support this belief. The evidence they did find was shallow and imprecise. For example, after finding that student note-taking generally declines over the duration of a lecture, the researchers of one study expressed support for the attention span theory. But, as Wilson and Korn point out, they found no direct evidence of a consistent 10 to 15 minute attention span.

In another study of student attention, trained observers watched students during a lecture and recorded perceived breaks in attention. They noted attention lapses during the initial minutes of “settling-in,” again at 10-18 minutes into lecture, and then as frequently as every 3-4 minutes toward the end of class.

Wilson and Korn are quick to remind us that observers may not be able to accurately measure students’ attention spans, and that while there may be a pattern of decline in student attention during a lecture, the exact length of the average attention span wasn’t determined.

Attention and Active Learning

In 2010, researchers revisited the issue by asking students in three introductory chemistry courses to report lapses in attention by using a “clicker.” Each course was taught by a different professor using a different teaching method (lecturing, demonstrating, or asking a question). The researchers measured the average length of the students’ reported attention lapses, as well as the relationship between attention lapses and various pedagogical methods used by each professor. The students were asked to report attention lapses by pressing a button on their clickers after they became aware that they had experienced a period of inattention.

The students clicked one button to indicate an attention lapse lasting 1 minute or less, another button to indicate a lapse of 2 to 3 minutes, and a third button to indicate a lapse of 5 minutes or more. The clicker-responses were sent to a computer, and this information was mapped onto a timeline of the different teaching methods used by each professor.

This allowed the researchers to tell whether reported lapses in attention became more or less frequent (or stayed the same) when a professor switched from one method to another.

The researchers found three interesting things. First, that the most frequently reported length of attention lapse was 1 minute or less, suggesting that very short breaks in attention are more common than longer breaks. Second, that the lapses occurred more frequently than the prevailing theory suggests. If the 10-15 minute theory were true, the researchers would have seen a pattern of reported lapses every 10 minutes or so, but this didn’t happen.

Instead, across all three courses, they observed a pattern in which the first “spike” in reported attention lapses occurred just 30 seconds into a lecture segment, reflecting the “settling-in” period; the next spike occurred at 4.5 to 5.5 minutes into the lecture; the next at 7 to 9 minutes; and the next at 9 to 10 minutes in.

This waxing-and-waning pattern continued throughout the lecture, with attention lapses occurring more frequently as the lecture progressed. By the end of the lecture, lapses occurred about every two minutes.

Thirdly, the researchers found a relationship between attention and active learning, or “student-centered” pedagogies. The two most commonly employed active learning methods were demonstrations and questions. There were fewer attention lapses reported during demonstrations and questions than during lecture segments. There were also fewer reported lapses in attention during lecture segments in the period immediately following either a demonstration or a question, when compared to lecture segments that preceded the active learning methods.

This last finding suggests that active learning methods may have “dual benefits”: engaging student attention during a segment and refreshing attention immediately after a segment.

The Truth About Technology

We’re all familiar with the argument–increased exposure to technology is rewiring students’ brains, making it tougher to reach and teach them. A Pew Internet survey of nearly 2,500 teachers finds that 87% believe new technologies are creating an “easily distracted generation with short attention spans” and 64% say today’s digital technologies “do more to distract students than to help them academically.” But is it really this black or white? Can’t technology improve attention in some cases?

David Levy, a professor in the Information School at University of Washington, sees a problem with many discussions about what technology is doing to our minds.

“So many of those debates fail to even acknowledge or realize that we can educate ourselves, even in the digital era, to be more attentive,” he says. “What’s crucial is education.” For example, in his classes, students meditate before lessons begin. Outside of class, he has them spend half an hour each day observing and logging their e-mail behavior.

Even Kristen Purcell, the associate director for research at Pew, acknowledged that the Pew findings could be viewed from another perspective: that the education system must adjust to better accommodate the way students learn.

“What we’re labeling as ‘distraction,’ some see as a failure of adults to see how these kids process information,” she said. “They’re not saying distraction is good but that the label of ‘distraction’ is a judgment of this generation.”

What’s more, the surveys also found that many teachers said technology could be a useful educational tool. In the Pew survey, which was done in conjunction with the College Board and the National Writing Project, roughly 75 percent of 2,462 teachers surveyed said that the Internet and search engines had a “mostly positive” impact on student research skills. And they said such tools had made students more self-sufficient researchers.

Students themselves agree. Med students at the University of California Irvine reported scoring 23 percent higher on national exams after being equipped with iPads in class. And, according to Pearson, more than six in ten college students and high school seniors agree that tablets help students to study more efficiently (66% and 64%) and help them perform better in class (64% and 63%).

How Can We Use These Findings?

We can make great leaps and bounds in our teaching simply by acknowledging findings like these. We can see that it’s effective to “break-up” lectures with periods of active learning, not only because of increased attention during such activities, but also because of the indirect boost in attention that can occur during lecture periods immediately following such activities.

We also see that we could benefit from reflecting on our expectations regarding student attention: as we deliver our lessons, we should expect brief lapses in attention, and plan accordingly.

In addition to incorporating active learning into our lessons, we can use technology to engage students and keep material personally relevant.

Tricks for Capturing Your Students’ Attention

1. Change the level and tone of your voice.

Often just changing the level and tone of your voice – perhaps by lowering or raising it slightly – will bring students back from a zone-out session.

3. Make a startling statement or give a quote.

Writing a surprising statement or quote related to the content on the board has a similar effect. In a lesson about linebreaks in poetry, write, “I am dying” on the board, wait a minute, and continue on the next line with “for a bowl of ice cream.” See what kind of reaction you get.

4. Write a challenging question on the board.

Write a basic comprehension question related to the reading on the board. Students have to answer it on slips of paper and turn them in. This gets students focused right away on course material. The question can then lead to discussion after the quiz.

5. Choose relevant examples.

Know your students and relate content to them. You don’t have to reach every student on an individual level; just try to use examples and scenarios most of them might encounter on a regular basis. Read more about the importance of relevance in this article.

7. Involve students in lectures.

Don’t just lecture on the anatomy of the brain with charts and diagrams; this will surely put everyone to sleep. During the lecture, stop to ask students if they can figure out the location of a brain section based on its Latin roots.

9. Establish the routine, task, and time limit.

If students are to work in groups, for example, they should know which group they belong in, what they will be doing, and for how long. This prevents attention from lapsing due to unclear goals.

10. Plan carefully and fully; make the plan apparent to students.

Students will lose focus if the objectives and plan for the lesson are not clear to them. Writing what the class will be doing on the board helps keep focus.

11. Divide target skills into manageable subskills.

If students are going to be participating in a class debate, telling them to “Debate the issue” may result in a lot of students wandering around confused. Outline what is involved in a debate on the board and break it down: today decide the issue and our sides; tomorrow establish the roles within our teams, the next day research, and so forth.

12. Establish clear roles.

In doing the debate, to continue the example, everyone within the group should have a task: either preparing some research for the debate, outlining the debate, preparing a counterargument, etc. If everyone’s role is clear, and everyone has a job to do, this results in less web-surfing and updating Facebook profiles during class.

13. Introduce change and surprise.

Human beings quickly become habituated to the status quo. When something in our environment shifts, however, we start paying attention again. A good rule of thumb is to switch things up every 15 minutes or so – tell a joke or a story, show a picture, address your topic in a different way.

14. Stress relevance and concreteness.

The human mind can’t handle too much abstraction. Bring your ideas down to earth by explaining how they connect to your listeners’ lives, and by embedding sensory details – what things look, sound, feel and taste like – into your account.

15. Tell stories.

Researchers who study human cognition say that stories are “psychologically privileged” — that is, our minds treat them differently than other kinds of information. We understand them better, remember them more accurately, and we find them more engaging to listen to in the first place. “When planning your presentation, think about how to capture your ideas in a narrative,” educator and psychologist Annie Murphy suggests.”

And remember, good stories usually have strong characters, a conflict — the main character can’t get what he wants — and complications on the way to overcoming that conflict.” Read more storytelling tips for educators here.

Saga has taught and tutored writing at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. Her educational interests include psychology, creativity, and system reform. She earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from Oberlin College and lives in Portland, Oregon, USA.